June 13, 2007
Milestone: Ronnie Creager
By Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag June 2007
"I've pretty much worn jeans, a tee shirt and a hat my whole life and I guess that's just me," says Ronnie Creager, referring to my inquiries on if he ever pondered an "image makeover" to increase his "marketability" and board sales and such.
"I'd have a hard time going out and putting on some flair, you know? If I want to stand out I'll put on white shoes and a white shirt. If I had an agent telling me, 'Ronnie, this is what we're gonna do to build your image…' I see how that can work for some people, but I have a hard enough time feeling normal as it is. I wouldn't want to change myself and be something that I'm not. I mean, it's hard enough being me."
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June 6, 2007
Boy did this one stir up some shit on the Slap message boards! Whoooooowheee! A 25-page thread! But seriously, for all you skateboard conspiracy theorists, haters, ponderers, thinkers, provocateurs, philosophers, lovers, protectors, cred police, whatever... Joe Castrucci isn't sending Silas flair packages, okay? I interviewed the dude and I know. Just ease up a bit. Go skating or something. Y'all know Habitat is legit. It was half a joke from Tim O'Connor in my pre-interview anyway, just to bust Silas' balls. And you'll see plenty more completely false rumors I presented to Silas when I post the unedited interview soon. In the meantime, enjoi this.
New Jack: Silas Baxter-Neal
Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag June 2007
Silas Baxter-Neal might be one of the more unique individuals in skateboarding today. Not because he's trying to be—but because he's just being himself. And in a subculture that prides itself on originality; most skateboarders either unnaturally force it, or end up following the herd. Its no wonder the rest of society generalizes and thinks we all wear tight black jeans, take drugs and listen to H.I.M.
I've never heard of a skateboarder who plays croquet, wants to open a bed and breakfast or was raised the way Silas was. He's down-to-earth and humble. You may have only seen bits and pieces of Silas here and there until now. He's had a few interviews and parts in smaller videos. As cliché as it sounds, with Silas, the best is yet to come. He's just moved from Oregon to Sunnyvale and is skating hard finalizing his parts in the new Habitat and éS videos. Until then, to put it simply, you are reading this because Silas is himself. Silas is unique and Silas is a great skateboarder.
At 23 do you ever feel like you're kinda' old to be am?
Yes, a man am. I think that 23 is the official age for man am.
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May 25, 2007
Here's the actual shoebox art from Rune's Forsvar. First time I ever wrote a piece for a shoebox so I'm pretty stoked on it.
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March 22, 2007
Truth Be Told: Kristian Svitak
By Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag May 2007
When I was told I'd be interviewing Kristian Svitak for The Mag, my initial thoughts were something to the effect of "Damn, I almost forgot about that guy! He's been MIA for a while…what the hell are we even gonna talk about? He'll probably be all bitter about losing his sponsors in the last few years and disappearing."
That's the pessimist, cynical, jumping-to-conclusions skateboarder in me. But I wasn't the only one thinking this stuff. It's just the way skateboarding goes sometimes. If you get kicked off the right team, get put on the wrong team, roster hop, get injured and take time to heal, go on a bender or lay low for a while, you become invisible, exiled, out of sight, out of mind, message board fodder—the new captain of "Team Blowing It." Not everyone can pull off a career resurrection or be a Guy Mariano or Gino Iannucci.
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February 8, 2007
Just did a quickie Arto interview for an update to his etnies.com. team page. Enjoi.
So how does it feel to finally be back in the game after being plagued with injuries and whatnot?
It is a whole new ampage level of bologna vibes! Epic!
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January 24, 2007
Danny Supa
By Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag, March 2007
Quiet, stylish, underrated, skating switch, lots of pop, New York City. These are all common words used over the years to describe Danny Supasirirat. But then, while pre interviewing some people, I got this:
"His tricks are best described as explosive...seriously. Each one is like watching a mini explosion. He puts his all into it.
-Kevin Imamura, Nike SB
"It's like a bomb goes off when he does his tricks."
-Chris Pastras
Two quotes about Danny Supa's skating, from two different talks and two different people who work very closely with Danny. Neither knew I was asking the other the same pre-interview questions. To get a reaction that specifically metaphorical from two entirely different individuals is quite remarkable. These comments go far beyond the generic and common "He's got a great style," type of thing. And it leads me to believe that Danny is a seriously well-defined, unique and talented professional skateboarder, who has left lasting and strong impressions on the people who know him. And that says a lot without saying a whole lot, which is the way Danny would probably prefer it.
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January 18, 2007
Jason and Sheckler share a moment
Did a quick email interview with Dill for his etnies.com team page the other day. An entertaining read? Of course! More on his team page over at etnies too.
Did you make any New Year's resolutions for 2007?
No.
How did the switch from DVS to etnies come about?
etnies looked like the future.
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January 10, 2007
Daily Ops: Tim O'Connor
10 Ways to not have a driver's license and still maintain a skateboarding career
By Rob Brink & Tim O'Connor
The Skateboard Mag February 2007
Back in the day, the members of our north Jersey skate crew with cars and driving privileges would rotate, pass off and fight over whose turn it was to go pick Tim up or drop him off—for over 10 years—easily. Sometimes we didn't think anything of it, other times is was downright unbearable. Thinking back on things like his Eastern Exposure 3 video part, sometimes I'm baffled as to how he got anything done. Its hard enough being from the East Coast and making a name for yourself in skateboarding; not driving until your mid-twenties and you're making shit nearly impossible. To this day, after about thirteen years of knowing Tim, I've yet to be a passenger in Tim's vehicle.
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January 5, 2007
Insider Info: Natural Selection
By Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag February 2007
The back story:
A little over a year ago, when I first started writing for The Skateboard Mag, they asked me to write a piece about almost anything I wanted. I was pretty flattered that the best mag out there (in my opinion) wanted to run a feature on me. Then I had to shoot photos, and I have to say, I gained a newfound appreciation for the pros and what they have to go through to come up with a good idea and a good trick at a good spot, not to mention actually landing it and then hoping the photo looks good once all is said and done. At least the dawn of digital photos makes things a little easier, huh? About seven months after I wrote the article, Ryan Cropley and I shot the photos. Since I'm old with no real bangers under my belt, I had to take the artsy fartsy approach. So here ya go. Look mom! I'm in a magazine! And I'm not just the writer this time!
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December 12, 2006
New Jack: Nyjah Houston
By Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag January 2007
There have been a lot of young skateboarding prodigies over the years, but its safe to say that Nyjah Huston, for his age, is the most accomplished, talented and progressive than those who have preceded him.
In 2005, Nyjah earned the coveted "curtains" slot in Element's Elementaliy Vol. 1 video, nabbed first place at Tampa Am, Am Getting Paid and Goofy vs. Regular—he was 10 years old then. In his 11th year on this planet, he's managed three second place finishes thus far (Global Assault, Panasonic Open and Right Guard Open). Not to mention the Unbridled Spirit Award, a special award given to him by the Kentucky Sports Authority during the Louisville stop of the Dew Action Sports Tour.
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